How to Setup a Beta version of phpBB

Today we are going to discuss how to set up the most recent beta update for phpBB 3.1.0 RC2.

NOTE: THIS IS A BETA TEST SOFTWARE AND IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ACTIVE SITE USE. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

So we need to download the software first. So navigate to the link here You will be taken to the following page:

You are going to find

Latest Development Release: 3.1.0-RC2

You will then see two download titles the first is the full package release with two options zip and bz2. For this tutorial we are going to use zip it’s easier to use. So click the download like so:

After you download unzip the folder and log into your favorite FTP client. For this tutorial we are going to use FileZila. I have a tutorial on this if you need help here

So after you log in you will navigate to your public_html folder on the right side and create a new folder called whatever you want to. For this blog we are going to use forum like so:

Then navigate to the folder you wish to upload the beat release to like so:

So on the left side navigate to the place you unzipped your folder too double click the folder and you will see phpBB inside it you will see another folder open that and select all files and upload them like so (NOTE: it can take a while to upload the files so be patient):

After it is finished go to your browser and type in the following: http://www.yourdomian.com/theplaceyouputyourforum/install/install.php

It will take you to a page like this:

You will then click install at the top and you will see this page:

At the bottom we will click Proceed to next step it will look like this:

Everything should be good to go it will tell you if you have any errors. You can scroll down to the bottom and click Proceed to next step it will look like this:

This is where you input your mysql database information. If you don’t know how to do this click here

After you do that click Proceed to next Step and you will be taken to another page that looks like this:

This page is a good thing it means that you setup and entered your mysql information properly. After you see this click Proceed to next Step and you will see the following page:

This is where you enter your admin information it defaults for user name as your mySQL database name. Go ahead and change that add your email address and password and click Proceed to next Step and you will see the following:

As long as you see green you are good to go. Click Proceed to next and you will see the following:

Proceed to next step again and you will see this page:

There are quite a few options here to choose from let’s go over them:

Enable board wide emails: I would leave this to enabled it allows you to mass email your members

Use SMTP I would leave this disabled unless you actually use SMTP. For this tutorial we are not going to set one up

Server url: this is for if you have https or want to enable cookies for https. For this tutorial we aren’t going to select this so just leave it alone for now

All of these setting you can later change in your Admin Control panel. Let’s move on and click Proceed to next Step you will see the following screen like so:

This is good to see click Proceed to next Step and you will see the following:

It’s installed! That’s great good job! Now just to verify it’s working properly go ahead and click login and you should see the following screen:

All done!

NOTE: Don’t forget to go back into your file manager or FileZilla and delete or rename your install folder for phpBB! This is very important!

If you have any questions about any of this feel free to comment below!

Author Spotlight

Keith Pottratz

Hello My Name is Keith Pottratz. I have been working with computers for over a decade. It's my personal hobby something that I love and enjoy doing. I went to school for Computer Science, and have spent many years self teaching my self various things. I have ton's of experience in HTML,CSS, PHPBB,CPanel,CMS software, blogging software and various other systems and enviroments. My favorite thing to do though is backend developing. I find it to be a growing and ever evolving beast and I love learning about it. I look forward to giving as much knowledge as I can and help.